It will surprise precisely zero percent of our readers to learn that car prices have remained stubbornly high and likely will so for the next umpteen zillion years. But a $141,350 Lexus – even the top dog SUV for that brand – seems unexplored territory.
That’s the sum which will be affixed to Monroney stickers on the LX 700h in Ultra Luxury trim, but the range does start at a trifling $106,850. Peanuts, then. It is worth noting the only way to get Overtrail trim on the LX at the moment involves opting for the hybrid powertrain; that’s a $115,350 proposition which is exactly the same amount being asked for a non-hybrid LX 600 in Luxury trim. Given the front/rear locking diffs plus a center locking diff and knobby tires on the Overtrail, that seems like a no-brainer choice between those two options.
Differences? The hybrid sandwiches an electric motor between its transmission and the twin-turbo 3.4L V6 engine, good enough to make 457 horsepower and 583 pound-feet of torque. Non-electrified LX 600 SUVs produce 409 ponies and 479 torques. The fuel economy gulf between the two is estimated to be a whopping 1 mpg, proving once again that Toyota hybrid systems – at least in trucks – are tuned for power instead of mileage. This does not make us notably unhappy, especially when hauling a trailer. However, we still pine for the V8 rumble which used to be part and parcel of Tundra pickups, roaring like a Nipponese NASCAR. But I digress; this post is about Lexus.
For the 2025 model year, Lexus has two models which start in the six figures, the LC ($100,425) and the LX ($106,850), with the large-and-in-charge LS crossing that threshold for anyone selecting the hybrid powertrain. In fact, an electrified LS 500h AWD is very nearly a $30,000 walk from the LS 500 AWD gasser in equal trim.
Elsewhere in the Lexus range for 2025, we find models like the $37,515 UX 300h which is one of only two cars in the brand whose price starts with a ‘3’ for this year. The other is the all-wheel drive variant of this same UX, sneaking in under the $40K limbo bar by less than a thousand bucks. Also pour one out for haggard Lexus sales staff who have to keep track of no fewer than eighteen different grades of RX crossover this year (ranging from a $50,325 base front-driver to a top-tier $72,610 plug-in hybrid. All these prices are plus freight and sundry fees, natch.
[Image: Lexus]
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